


Wrong Place At the Right Time

by randomcanbian



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-23
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-02-26 17:58:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2661197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomcanbian/pseuds/randomcanbian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Superhero AU, where Laura finds out that Carmilla has superpowers and may or may not be a superhero. Drabble, for now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Non-beta'd because college and national medical admission test but carmilla ideas won't leave me alone. May fix it when sweet vacation comes down on me.

Her eyes have been on Carmilla the whole class. It sucks, because Laura’s pretty sure the professor’s discussing something important, but she can’t shake last night out of her head.

_Watch out, cutie. Don’t know when some drunk asshole’s gonna run you over, you know?_

The walk sign was green, the streetlight red, and Laura—like any normal human—assumed it safe to cross the road. Little did she know that an SUV was rounding the bend and roaring towards her ‘til it was too late and all she could have done was stare into its headlights. If things were different, this morning would have found her smeared to bits on asphalt. Instead, someone lifted her out of the way, the very moment before the car could hit her.

It was all a blur, to be honest. She felt a rush of wind as blinding lights turned into the night sky, when strong arms set her down onto soft, damp grass. The girl who had saved her left as soon as those words left her mouth, leaving no time for Laura to thank her, or even look at her. In fact, she’d have never known it was her classmate had it not been for the…uniqueness of her voice.

She makes a beeline for Carmilla as soon as the professor dismisses the class.

Laura has never really talked with Carmilla before, because she—okay, she intimidates her. She’s like incredibly smart (Laura furiously jots down notes whenever she recites) and like, w-t-f levels of beautiful.  She’s been hoping for some sort of group work so she could finally have an excuse to talk to her, but so far nada. Now though, since the girl had literally saved her?

Actually, she’s pretty sure she should be even _more_ intimidated. Like, hello, superpowers? Laura’s mind is incredibly confusing some times.

“Um, hey,” Laura says, catching Carmilla’s attention. The girl quirks an eyebrow when she looks at Laura, but the latter’s not sure if she even recognizes her as the person she saved last night.

“Hollis, right? Anything I can do for you?” 

If she had any doubts as to the heroic stranger’s identity, well, they’re all gone now. That is definitely the same voice. She’d know that voice anywhere.

“I—” They’re in the hallway, surrounded by students on their way to their next class. If Carmilla really is some sort of hero, Laura’s pretty sure she’d rather not have her alter ego known by some random passerby. “Let’s wait a bit, when everyone’s gone. I need to tell you something.”

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow at her, but nods her consent. “I have time. And your need for discretion has me rather intrigued.”

“Yeah,” Laura says, “I don’t think you’d like it if other people hear me talk about it.”

This time, Carmilla’s brow furrows.

Ugh, she still looks so pretty doing that what eve—Laura, focus.

“What?” she asks.

“Wait.” Laura looks to her sides, to see that the nearest people to them are a number of meters away. Satisfied, she looks to Carmilla and, as gratefully as she can, says, “Thank you for saving me last night!”

Recognition flashes on her face, and even the following act of confusion does little to make Laura forget it.

“Hollis, I think you’re mistaking me for someone else.”


	2. Chapter 2

As an avid comic book reader herself, she knows that there are a million reasons why some superheroes would rather keep their alter egos hidden. In hindsight, it may have been better if she had just pretended that she wasn’t saved from near-certain death by some girl she knows from her Humanities II class.

It’s too late, though, to take back her words. Carmilla already knows that Laura knows who she is, and the latter’s sure as hell that Carmilla already deems her a risk.

“Don’t worry,” Laura says. “I won’t tell anyone, promise. I just, you know, need to show my gratitude.”

Laura swallows the lump in her throat. Carmilla’s silently staring at her and, frankly, being at the end of such an intense, scrutinizing gaze was worsening Laura’s nerves. She nearly sighs in relief when the girl closes her eyes and smiles, but then:

“And how do you plan to do that, exactly?” Carmilla’s voice is deeper, huskier than it usually is; this, and the way she’s looking at Laura now—dark eyes full of mischief and lust—makes her knees weak.

“I—I don’t—”

Her mouth is too dry to speak.

“I’m free Thursday for another _study session_ , cupcake, since you’re so eager to make up for the last.”

Oh _god is study session a euphemism for sex??? She thinks that she’s thanking her for sex??? But they didn’t—shouldn’t she—how could—?????_

Laura opens her mouth to speak but no words come out; she opts, then, to shake her head with unrivalled vigor. Warmth is blooming from her cheeks and _oh god stop with the sexy smirking for the love of_

“I-have-to-go-I-have-class-soon-I’m-a-no-for-the-study-date-sorry-see-you,” she says in one breath, voice making up for all the missed cues, and Laura walks as fast as she can before she embarrasses herself any further.

She power jogs down two flights of stairs before she lets herself stop.

///

She knows now that Carmilla’s actions last Tuesday were merely diversionary tactics to keep Laura from prodding into her superhero identity. It does not erase the fact that her reaction was entirely genuine, nor the fact that Carmilla knows she can get her all hot and bothered with a few words and a well-placed smirk.

She’d have cut class if she could. Never seeing Carmilla’s annoyingly pretty face again would be a moment too soon. But she’s not that type of girl, and only mortal danger to herself or her loved ones could force her to skip school.

And, if she thought about it, it wasn’t too bad. She and Carmilla were on opposite sides of the room, and they rarely interacted. If she played her cards right, she wouldn’t have to experience the burning mortification that will no doubt come with Carmilla laying her eyes on her.

Laura sighs before returning her attention to the class at hand.

The professor had just informed them of the essay they had to pass the week after next. The paper was to be done in pairs, and their prof was in the middle of announcing who were to be partners.

“Borallo, Domingo. Baroque Sculpture.”

Laura muses on the probability of her and Carmilla being paired for this project.

“Chavez, Yap. Impressionist use of color.”

There are at least fifty people in this class. What are the chances of them ending up as partners?

“Montoya, Kane. Chiaroscuro.”

She’d be convinced that the universe was conspiring against her if ever that happened, to be honest.

“Finnigan, Huang. Chromatic code.”

Because really, there’s a 98% chance of her working with someone she can actually look in the eye.

“Hollis, Karnstein. Surrealism.”

It’d be absurd, if she—

“WHAT?”

The sudden exclamation bounces off the walls, and Laura feels fifty sets of eyes staring at her. She can practically feel herself turning red by the second.

“I’m sorry, I, uh, I just really like surrealism,” Laura explains. Her professor smiles at her and lets out a small chuckle.

“Don’t we all, Miss Hollis,” he says, before continuing on with the list. Laura senses her fellow students sinking back into varying states of inactivity as well, and she slumps in her seat.

She’d have enjoyed the irony of this situation, had this happened to anyone other than her.

Laura takes a breath before looking to her right. Surprisingly, she wasn’t greeted by some self-satisfied grin on Carmilla’s face.

In fact, the girl was fast asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Laura had hovered over Carmilla’s sleeping figure for a full five minutes. She had agonized on whether to wake her up or not—to talk about the project—as more and more students left the room, but the very moment Carmilla started stirring Laura had bolted out the room.

She’s halfway to her next class when she begins rethinking her decision. Hum II’s the only class they have together, and she has no idea 1) what course and what classes Carmilla’s taking, 2) where Carmilla hangs out after school, 3) what her social media accounts are (if they even exist at all), and 4) what her phone number and email address is. If she decides to wait until next Tuesday to discuss the essay, they’ll have wasted an entire weekend, which is something Laura wants to avoid.

(She remembers cramming a paper for her Lit class at nigh-literally the last minute.

Those were horrible times.)

She sighs and jogs back to the room, and groans when Carmilla’s nowhere to be seen. What does she do now?

Maybe…does Carmilla live in the dorm? It’s a slight chance, but if she did, Perry would probably know what room she stayed in, being a ridiculously responsible floor don and all.

Great. Okay. That’s what she’ll do. After class she’ll look for Perry, ask her if Carmilla stays at the dorm, pray to all the existing deities that she does, get her room number, find her, and then discuss how they’ll do the essay.

If everything goes according to plan, the last part’s going to be easy. Hopefully.

(And to be honest, despite how embarrassing last Tuesday was, she’s still extremelycurious as to what Carmilla _is_. She’s been trying to rationalize that whole saved-from-being-turned-into-roadkill episode, but nothing she came up with was as plausible as her having superpowers of some sort. Like, really, Carmilla’s an inch taller than her at most, and she definitely doesn’t look the type to be able to carry Laura like she was a rolled-up newspaper instead of, well, a person. Not to mention the unreal speeds she reached carrying her out of harm’s way. So yeah, definitely superhuman abilities.

Maybe if all goes well, she’ll be able to wrangle up some clues, maybe even get an explanation from the woman herself, who knows?

She has her fingers crossed.)

///

Turns out, Carmilla _does_ live in the dorm. On the floor just above Laura’s, to be exact. Who’d have thunk?

Her fist’s poised just centimeters before the door.

She’s going to knock any second now.

_Any second now._

The door opens.

“I could hear your heart beating through the wall, Thumper. What do you want?”

Laura doesn’t really process the question. She’s still taken by surprise, facing Carmilla with eyes wide and mouth a bit askew. Could she really have heard—well, she has super strength and speed; superhuman hearing isn’t that much of a jump.

“Jesus, I was kidding,” Carmilla says with a roll of her eyes when Laura fails to reply. “Is there a reason you’re here, because I have better things to do than wait for you to remember how to speak.”

That was a bit rude. Was she always this rude? Or is she still grumpy from her apparent lack of sleep?

“You might have missed it when Sir announced it—” _because you were passed out on your desk,_ she wants to add “—but we have an essay due next, next Thursday. It’s by pairs and I’m your partner, and our topic’s on Surrealism.”

“Leave it to Redillas to assign something so general,” Laura hears her mumble under her breath. Carmilla licks her lips and runs a hand through her hair (she’s so pretty, it’s so annoying) before quirking an eyebrow at Laura.

“The old man give any specifics? Minimum pages, maximum pages, scope restriction, shit like that?”

Laura shakes her head.

“Figures,” Carmilla scoffs.

When she doesn’t say anything else, Laura asks, “So, uh, what do you want to do? I’m free tonight, if you want to start?”

“Eager thing, aren’t you?” Carmilla says, with a predatory smirk that makes Laura blush despite herself. The flirtatious demeanor drops quickly, and lips return to the line they were forming. “Sadly, no-can-do. I’ve got places to be.”

“What about tomorrow?”

“Busy.” Carmilla hums a bit, before adding, “You up to doing it online?”

“Google docs?” Laura’s a smidge disappointed. She had the two of them in the same room bouncing ideas off each other in mind. You know, since it’s sort of hard to squeeze secrets out a person online. But it’s her grade on the line, so she guesses she’ll have to make do. “Because I can make one tonight. I can start on the outline, too.”

Carmilla shrugs. “Whatever floats your boat, cupcake. Now if you excuse me,” she says, beginning to close the door.

Laura stops it with her foot. “Your email, so I can send it to you?”

“Ckarnstein76@silas.edu.at. Are you done?” she asks with a scowl.

Laura has to bite her tongue so she doesn’t ask Carmilla what’s got her panties in a twist. (Good thing too, in hindsight, because Carmilla’d probably have retorted with something sexually-charged that would have warmed up Laura’s traitor of a body). So she _might_ have saved her life, but it’s sort of hard to be grateful when her savior’s being a bit of an ass.

“Yes, I am,” Laura says instead. “I’m going to go now.”

Laura removes her foot from the doorway as Carmilla makes some non-committal noise and closes the door.

So that’s that.

Now what?

///

It came to her, a minute after Carmilla closed the door and left Laura standing in an empty hallway.

Why was she in such a hurry to be left alone? Because she had to go patrol the streets for crime and trouble, duh. That’s literally what all superheroes with daytime alter-egos do. Helena Bertinelli, Billy Kaplan, Kamala Khan…ugh, how did she not see this? And it totally explains why she fell asleep in class today, some wrongdoer probably had her up the whole night or something.

So, Carmilla does night patrols. One very probable possibility. How does Laura use this to prove her superhero-classmate theory?

“Perry,” she calls, as she approaches the red-haired floor don in the dorm lobby. She’s on one of the couches, pen and paper on the coffee table in front of her and a bundle of documents beside her, but if it’s floor don responsibilities or one of her German Lit readings, Laura has no clue.

“Hmmm?” Perry hums, looking up. Sighting Laura, she asks, “Laura! Were you able to catch Carmilla?”

“No,” Laura lies, “no one answered the door when I knocked.” She sits on the sofa arm nearest the floor don. “If you’re still here and she passes by, can you text me?”

“Why, of course. Do you want me to tell her that you’ve been looking for her?”

“If it’s no trouble,” Laura says. “And maybe give her my number, so I can contact her?”

“Or not,” she backtracks, as her face blanches.

“Rather not give her material to tease you with, I gather?” Perry asks with a smile. Laura grimaces and nods.

“You get used to it,” Perry says, surprisingly fond. “The flirting and the admittedly witty name-calling.”

“Are you…friends?”

“We’ve shared some experiences.” It’s more enigmatic a reply than Laura’s used to hearing from the floor don. Something’s up.

“What does that mean?”

Laura feels a sudden rise in tension when Perry remains silent for more than ten seconds. She watches as the floor don takes a breath and slowly lays the pen in hand on the table top, her eyes looking unsurely at Laura, as if debating whether she should answer her question or not.

“Lean closer,” Perry whispers. She looks to her left and right to check for another soul’s presence as Laura does as she’s told. No one else is there, and as Perry cups a hand to her ear, Laura wonders if Carmilla’s secret is bigger than she had ever imagined it to be.

“We had sexual intercourse.”

Laura sits frozen as Perry returns to her former position, still trying to process the sentence that came out of the floor don’s mouth. When it hits home, she jerks back, almost falling off the sofa arm. As it is, she stares at Perry, making a commendable number of faces in a span of several seconds.

On Perry’s part, she just stares at Laura with her eyes wide.

Until, that is, her façade breaks and she buries her face in her hands.

“I don’t know why I said that,” Perry says as she looks at Laura, clasping her hands together and looking absolutely mortified. “LaFontaine and Carmilla are rubbing off on me, in the worst way imaginable. That was a joke, Laura. To be clear, I am asexual and have not had sex, nor will ever have sex in the foreseeable future.”

“I—oh my god.” That’s all Laura can say. Oh my god.

“Never, ever mention my brief foray into the subject of sexually-charged jokes to either of them, Laura. To anyone else, really.”

Perry’s turning the color of her hair and it is, honestly, all too endearing. This whole thing is actually really funny, in hindsight.

Laura grins, and tries not to laugh for Perry’s sake. “I’ll take this to my grave, don’t worry.”

The floor don nods gratefully. Laura stifles another laugh, as she hugs her friend before getting up. “Thank you for your help, Perry. I have to go, need to tie up some loose ends with _another_ classmate.”

“You’re welcome Laura. Just, please forgot the latter part of this conversation,” Perry says, sending a sheepish smile to the girl before going back to her papers.

Laura gives her a thumbs up, before exiting the dorm.

She lets herself laugh a bit, before gearing herself towards a disposition more befitting the task at hand.

The front entrance is, thanks to Perry, more or less covered. If Carmilla uses the regular way to get out of the building, Laura will know. The back though—Carmilla’s room’s window, specifically—its’ surveillance remains to be seen.

But that’s why she’s here outside, with a full bag in her hands. Inside the aforementioned bag is a) a blanket b) a pair of binoculars c) bottles of water d) a pack of cookies and two ham sandwiches, and e) a flashlight.

She’ll stay outside all night if she has to.

Because what better way is there to prove that one’s dorm mate sneaks out at night to fight crime and right wrongs than through a stake-out?


End file.
